Bellator Fighting Championships brass today officially announced the matchup, which was previously reported by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), as well as a non-tournament bout between Ben Saunders (9-3-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) and Matt Lee (13-9-1, 0-1 BFC).

Bellator 39 takes place April 2 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., and airs on MTV2. The fight card will also feature two semifinal contests in Bellator’s season-four welterweight tournament.

“Returning to Mohegan Sun in season four was a high priority for us,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney stated in an official release. “Mohegan Sun has a spectacular venue, a great gaming facility and a luxurious hotel. I’m really looking forward to our return.

“Putting together an incredible night of fights is only one part of the equation – having a great place to show it is the other, and Mohegan Sun is the perfect venue for this event.”

After Alvarez won the season-one tournament and Curran the season-two tourney, they were scheduled for a title fight in season three. But Curran was forced out of the bout due to a shoulder injury, and Alvarez instead fought and defeated eliminated tourney fighter Roger Huerta in a non-title fight.

Alvarez now carries a six-fight win streak into the bout and an 11-1 record in his past 12 fights. All but two of the wins (over Matt Lee and Joachim Hansen) came via stoppage. In fact, while known for heavy hands, Alvarez has posted submission wins in five of his past six victories.

Curran, the cousin of former UFC/WEC fighter Jeff Curran, punched his ticket to the title with tourney wins over Mike Ricci, Huerta and Toby Imada. He’s now won four straight and six of his past seven.

After a solid showing on “TUF 6″ in which Saunders displayed his impressive
reach, strength and expertise from the clinch, the longtime Jeet Kune Do
student and Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt picked up consecutive wins
over Dan Barrera, Ryan Thomas and Brandon Wolff to extend his undefeated
streak to nine fights.

However, a loss to fellow contender Mike Swick at UFC 99 started a rough
stretch for Saunders. Although he rebounded for a swift KO victory (via
flying knee) over Marcus Davis, he then fell short against wrestlers
and ground specialists Jon Fitch (UFC 111) and Dennis Hallman (UFC 117) to
force the UFC release back in August.

Meanwhile, Lee fights for the second time under the Bellator banner. The 10-year veteran, who has also fought for Strikeforce and BodogFIGHT, lost a unanimous decision to Ryan Quinn in an April 2010 bout at Bellator 15. Lee bounced back with a TKO victory over Brett Oteri at this pas May’s Moosin event.